FishTax

I can catch them on jigs, but have to keep it moving to feel a bite. If I just cast and let it drop, I can line watch but I never see it do anything. Maybe I'm over thinking and there's nothing to feel because I'm not getting bit 😎

I've eaten them all. Bream are good. Cook them whole (gutted obviously) then pull the bones out after cooking. If you do it right you can get most of them in one pull. If not, enjoy picking bones lol. I don't eat them anymore, I release everything. My son is begging to cook a catfish though so I guess we'll be doing that soon. Big mess lol

I took off work and hit lake Norman with a buddy this morning. I'm not used to water that clear or fishing for spots, so it was fun to have a new experience. They were on beds everywhere and pretty aggressive. It was cool to be able to see the beds in 5-8' of water in some places. This whole year I've fished under a foot of visibility so really really cool. Even saw 2 schools of large catfish, one circled our boat like sharks lol. We caught a lot, but all they'd eat was senko, any way you gave it to them. They fight much harder than lmb in my experience, which is fun. Mostly small ones, a few in the 2-3 lb range. Only picture I took is below. My buddy got there super early and caught numerous over 4lb ones in the dark on top water. I couldn't make it that early because I live too far away and like to sleep at least some.

Spent some time today fishing. I think it really does come down to time spent. I feel extremely confident detecting bites on shaky head as long as there is no wind. Jigs are difficult when working bottom, usually just find a bass there so I'm sure I'm missing some. Threw a wacky today, I just have no confidence in that. I can't detect bites at all. Can't imagine I didn't get any because my buddy caught over 10 on one and I was catching on shaky head so I know I was on them. Who knows, spending more time fishing and learning is a prescription I'm happy to follow 😎

I fish a spot to death that I'm convinced has fish, even if I haven't seen the fish. This is a good and bad thing, some of my biggest fish have been 5th or 6th cast on a laydown or point, but I don't cover much water because I fish so slow. Also I get impatient with my presentations and get sloppy sometimes I think, reeling too fast or not working it like I should.

Best description of frog fishing I've ever read. It's addicting and heartbreaking. Hard to walk away from the blowups, but hard to hook them. Aghghhg!!!

I've done that before, and even thought I was reeling it in for a couple seconds before I realized my kayak was moving towards the tree haha but boy was my rod bent, I was sure it was a monster!

Looking to continue the conversation from some excellent posts from the latest catch thread regarding bite detection, I really think that is what sets apart the hammers from the folks like me who spend too much time with skunks. Obviously time on the water is probably the most key factor, but I'm interested to hear if anyone has further tips to optimize their time on the water and improve bite detection? This is a big focus for me this year. My ideas are to use baits with more vibration so I can feel when something changes easier, and then always set the hook when I get that feeling. Agree, disagree, any further ideas on how to improve rapidly in bite detection with various baits?

I definitely struggle with bite detection. I'm going to start a new thread on that so to not hijack this one. But to the point of this quote, now that I'm in a kayak I spend significant time getting my lures unhooked from all the treefish I catch. I can set the hook on submerged wood with the best of them. If there were a tour for that, I think I could get an invitation!

Agree. I'm not a fan of chemicals, but I always coat my pants, especially around my ankles and waist, with the same stuff @ol'crickety mentioned. Lyme's seems to be having an uptick lately and I'm not interested in having a run with it. I wash my fishing pants weekly I think. But I don't get out as much as you all, so if I have a few trips I'll wash after those are done.

I can't find the shadinator, can you send a link or tell me it it's a page or group or something? I don't use FB much...

I have old town 106 and it's very stable, but I second everything @Bankcsaid so be sure to read his reply if you haven't yet I always say I don't think I could flip mine if I tried, but I could easily fall out of it.

I'm looking forward to being back on some lakes and maybe a pond this week. Recovering from my skunk on mountain streams, missing my big girls back in the home lakes 😎

I've never been there but it's on my list, about 30 min from me I think. Let us know what you find!

I think I'm hitting one of the yadkin lakes Wednesday. I'll let you know what it looks like if it happens.

I've missed seeing those beautiful Maine bass. Glad you're back! I think we had record heat today in NC, high 80s. Crazy. 2 weeks ago it was snowing in the mountains 2 hours from here! I wonder if the bass are as confused as I am in the spring? Probably not because they don't need as much Benadryl 🤣

Thank you @whitwolfthat's very generous! I will certainly let you know if I'm up this way again soon. River fishing these mountain streams is a lot different than I anticipated and I haven't been able to find good spots. Should have hired a guide, I know for next time!

The section of stream in on is devoid of all species of fish. Going to try to find a new spot tomorrow. 😞 This weekend may not be my time, but I've got 2 more trips scheduled this month 😀

Get away from me bait monkey! 🐒

I think the height you're at, and thus the angle you are looking from, matters as well. I feel like when standing on a boat I can see much better under water than when sitting in kayak, or standing really. Just being higher seems to make a big difference, which makes sense because if you think of standing on a bridge over a creek you can see way better than just from standing beside the creek. Clear water matters though as others have said. Lots of factors involved. I've definitely seen fish with them, but it's definitely not miraculous, it's not like thermal imaging or something lol (that's more FFS)

Those are some gorgeous bluegill, and fatties at that! If you're catching those you may as well keep on and enjoy that bite. I love catching those, especially on UL gear!

I've got a slew of various size spinners waiting for me at walmart pickup, although most of them are the $1 walmart special. I'm counting on being in unpressured water where the fish don't know how much i paid, so if I'm catching lots of tree fish I won't be too sad

You are still over thinking it 😎 On chatterbait, if you insist on using it (I don't love them) try different retrieves and speeds until you get bit. On your tackle, if you have a rod and reel that is functional, a worm of any color, and a sharp hook, you have enough. Go catch a fish!

I'm going to get my first snagless sally wet this weekend. Looking forward to it!

I think I'm going to keep it simple and stick with neds, senkos (wacky and TR), the bitsy bug jigs @MediumMouthBass recommended since I just got several last week from my BPS spring sale order. Hoping to have a new 'sort of BFS' setup to throw some of that on as well as a couple spinning rods as I'm only bringing 2 pc rods on this trip. @TnRiver46 I'm not sure I'll actually make it to that river, we'll see how the weekend goes but your post made me want to! I'll be close to Lake Lure, but doubt I'll go there as bank fishing a large lake has never been something I enjoy, I just want to get on a boat the entire time Thanks for the advice!